“Substance abuse is a chronic disease and major source of morbidity and mortality in the U.S.”

Peggy Compton, PhD, van Ameringen Chair in Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing and an associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Nearly 400 nurses, physicians and other
health care workers will attend the University at Buffalo School of
Nursing’s 20th Annual Bullough Lecture to learn about the
silent epidemic affecting the nation from pain and opioid
addictions expert Peggy Compton.

Compton, PhD, the van Ameringen Chair in Psychiatric and Mental
Health Nursing and an associate professor at the University of
Pennsylvania, is the speaker for this year’s Bullough
Lecture. It is the keynote event of the School of Nursing’s
annual Research Day, which unites nursing scholars across Western
New York to discuss and share advancements in the study of pressing
health care issues.

In her presentation, “Addiction, Opioids and Pain:
Exemplar Nursing Science,” Compton will explore the overlap
between pain and addiction disorders, how opioids can alter pain
perception, strategies for responsibly prescribing pain medication
and how to recognize substance use disorders in patients with
chronic pain.

Gale Burstein, MD, Erie County Commissioner of Health, will also
present during Research Day between 9:50-11:30 a.m.

Media are invited to attend. On-site contact is Marcene
Robinson, marcener@buffalo.edu or
716-645-4595.

Why: Prescription opioid abuse has reached epidemic
proportions, with more than half of patients being treated for
chronic pain reportedly misusing their medication at some
point.

Opioids are one of the most commonly prescribed medications used
to treat individuals with chronic pain, an issue that affects
nearly half of Americans at some point in their lives. According to
the American Society of Addiction Medicine, in 2012 some 259
million opioid pain medication prescriptions were written, enough
for every adult in the U.S. to have a bottle of pills.

“Substance abuse is a chronic disease and major source of
morbidity and mortality in the U.S. It is also an exemplar for
independent nursing intervention,” says Compton.
“Understanding how it affects the human experience of pain is
critical to treating the suffering associated with each.”

Compton studies the pain responses of opioid-addicted
individuals, and is an expert in detecting abuse and addiction
among patients with chronic pain. Her research explores opioid
addiction from a neurophysiological and clinical perspective with a
focus on how the presence of pain affects its expression. More
recently, she has studied pain-opioid interactions on immune
cells.